A Pan Am Boeing 747-200 at London Gatwick Airport. Photo courtesy of Dean Morley via Flickr.
The good folks at the International Air Transport Association sent me an email recently telling me that Jan. 1, 1914, marked the first ever scheduled flight with a paying passenger. Throughout 2014, IATA is celebrating this milestone various ways, including a website and through the IATA Twitter account using the hashtag #Flying100. So I’m going to join the celebration and tell the story of my first flight.
My dad was a captain in the U.S. Air Force (he stayed in for 30 years) and we were moving to Royal Air Force Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Back in the olden days, flying was still a big deal. We were flying out of JFK Airport to London on Pan Am. My sister, 3, and I, 6, were dressed in our Sunday best — complete with hats, purses and white gloves.
Our New York cousins came to see us off at the airport, and they were also wearing their Sunday best. Back then, there wasn’t the onerous security there is now, so we were all able to walk around and go to the gate. When it was time to board the Boeing 747, I was allowed to go into the cockpit. The captain was very kind, explaining all the controls and talking about our big adventure. That was the moment my lifelong love affair with aviation started.
So – what was your first flight like?